The Langley Schools Music Project

How have I lived 30 years on this Earth and not heard this? This New York Times article puts it well:

Last month, I heard David Bowie’s 1969 glam-rock classic “Space Oddity” as if for the first time. I’d heard the song on the radio before, of course; however, coming as it did, not from Mr. Bowie but from a choir of elementary school kids in a remote farm community in northern Canada, this was something new.

Langley isn’t remotely in northern Canada, but we’ll let that go. In 1977, students in a Langley school gathered in a gymnasium to sing. They were recorded, and the LPs were sold to children and parents. The album was discovered 23 years later in a Victoria thrift shop, a New York DJ heard it, and it was re-released to considerable acclaim.

UPDATE: At the end of this post, I refenrence an Irish short film called ‘Give Up Your Auld Sins’. I couldn’t find much on it on the Web, but Martine points to this page, which has an excerpt from these wonderful short films.

It’s amazing music, and difficult to describe. The Washington Post put it well: “An album that seems to capture nothing less than the sound of falling in love with music.” It is, on one level, a gimmicky recording of some average 70s kids, but there’s something wonderful and affecting underneath. Whether it’s the slightly-ominous “Space Oddity” or the bleak, innnocent take on “Desperado”, you can hear the children’s serious joy as they make music.

There’s a great NPR piece on the project, as well as a history of how the record was rediscovered. Additionally, there are audio clips on the home page. I’ve got the whole CD, if anybody wants a copy.

The project reminded me of the wonderful Irish animated shorts, Give Up Your Auld Sins. I’d link to them, if there was any information anywhere on the Web about them.